Called Out In The Dark
by matissek11
Summary: After all is done, Eragon doesn't want to stay in the city, so he finds his tent in the Varden's camp outside Uru'baen. Arya finds him, and has some choice words for him.


I named this thing Called Out In The Dark, and some of you may know that this is the name of a song by Snowpatrol. I'm just gonna say it up here in my little author's note, this is NOT a songfic. Sorry. I'm just not that into writing those. Don't get me wrong, I read them all the time, I just suck at writing them.

Disclaimer: There's a reason Chris Paolini has a restraining order against me...

Eragon finched as a twig snapped outside his tent, pulling him from his waking dreams. He sensed that Saphira knew what was amiss, but she refused to enlighten him, merely saying,

_You have someone who wishes to speak with you. _

He felt an inkling of a realization dawn on him, tickling the back of his mind, but instead of voicing it he chose to remain silent.

His only reply was, _I come._

_I...feel the sudden need to hunt. I will see if Firnen wishes to come. _

He knew that she was giving him privacy to speak with whoever was out there, and judging from the fact that she was taking Firnen, it was probably Arya. He rose from his cot, stretching his stiff muscles, when she brushed the entrance flap aside like it was made of air. She padded softly, as if afraid of disturbing the quiet of the night.

"Arya Drottning." Eragon said, using her title so as not to offend her. All this, however, was lost on her. She gave a short, harsh laugh.

"Look at us, Eragon. What kind of state are we in? I come to talk with a close friend, and he adresses me as the queen. We continue to hold each other at an arms length..." She trailed off, as if not sure how to continue.

"_You_ continue to hold _me_ at an arms length, not the other way around, as you well know, Arya." She startled him with her reaction. She whirrled around, hair splaying in a writhing black halo, lip curled in a fierce smile.

"Do you _honestly believe that?_" She asked, incredulous. "Eragon, think! Ever since the celebration and your...change, your heart has not been whole. You have blinded yourself to everything except the necessary." She stopped.

"I do not need _you_ of all people to tell me this. Do you not think that it haunts my every waking hour and most of the others too? Everytime I see you, I must feel my heart turn to stone all over again. But I force myself to ignore it, because I know that my friendship does actually mean something to you!" He paused, panting slightly.

"Do you really think so little of me?" Arya demanded, a flame blazing brightly in her emerald eyes. "That I would be so cruel as to cause you so much pain, and then remain in constant contact with you, merely for my pleasure? What do you take me for?" He was startled to see a single crystaline tear wind its way down her cheek. He wracked his mind for an idea of how to fix this. He needed to convey the exact, and vast, amount of love held for her. He sensed that he hadn't effectively done so the first time around. Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Arya." He murmured quietly. He tremulously lifted a hand and touched it beneath her chin. Slowly, he forced her to look him in the eye. "Arya." He whispered again. "Let nme show you something." Eragon released a tendril of thought in her direction. Almost as soon as he reached out, he encountered a wall hard and flawless as steel. He surrounded her mind and coaxed her out. As soon as her last wall wall was down, he pulled her into his mind, merging them until she saw through his eyes.

_Why? _Came the faint inquiry. Instead of answering, Eragon looked at her body and focused, trying to show her what she looked like to him. He pulled out all of his specially preserved memories, and flung them at her. The sound of her laugh, how her skin glistened in the halo of sunlight, how entrancing her eyes were, what she did to hm when she smiled.

_Because, _he said. _Everything you do amazes me, yet you see nothing there. Because you are perfect, flawless. Because you mean everything to me. That's why, Princess. _With that, he gently returned her to her own body. (This is where Arya gets totally OOC)

She gasped at the loss of contact, and took a deep breath before tears started to roll down her cheeks. It looked as if a steady stream was flowing down her perfect visage. Eragon was stymied. She began to sob and she slowly slid to the floor. Eragon sat and wrapped her in his arms. Arya dug her face into his neck.

"Eragon, I'm so _sorry_!" She whispered fervently. " I had no idea. I thought it was just a phase. I thought that I was the only person that I would really be hurting. I didn't want to admit to myself, much less you, that we actually might have something real. But now it's all over, and I came-" She choked on her words. "I came to tell you that- that I love you as well. Always have. Her sobs had been reduced to small hiccups by now. Eragon shifted a little, so that he could see her face. She peeked out at him shyly, and he was forced to stifle a laugh.

"What?" She asked defensively, reading the look on his face, and sensing that he was laughing at her.

"It's just that you look so cute right now." He chuckled. "It just took me by surprise. I 'm used to describing you as independent, fierce, but not cute." She looked a bit scared, so he added, "But I like it. A lot." And for the first time that night, Arya truly smiled.


End file.
